Don's Home Tech Home Automation AI Voice Assistant
Sample Questions and Answers - Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri                                      

 
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Alexa help at Amazon

75 Point Comparison of Amazon Echo to Google Home - HomeAlarmReport.com

* I tested Siri on a iPhone instead of a HomePod so it can give answers which is uaually 5 web links.

Question	Amazon Alexa's Answer	Google Home's Answer		Siri's Answer
Kitchen Questions
Timer	Yes, and you can have multiple times with different names.	Yes, and you can have multiple times with different names.	Tie	Yes Multiple times but no names
What's the right internal temperature when cooking chicken?	Hmmm. I don't know that one.	165° F. On the website thekitchn.com, they said, kitchen fact, the safe internal temperature for cooking chicken is 165° F.	Google	Gives a list of 5 web sites to check
How many tablespoons in 1/8 cups?	1/8 Cups is 2 Tablepoons	0.125 US Customary Cups Equals to US Tablespoons	Echo	0.13 cups = 2 tablespoons
Can I put tomatoes in the fridge?	Sorry, I don't know that one.	The cold air in the fridge stops the ripening process and ripening is what gives tomatoes their flavor. The fridge will also alter the texture of the tomatoes. Instead of putting tomatoes in the fridge, store them in a paper bag …	Google	Gives a list of 5 web sites to check
How do you make lemonade?	The description reads, a cool refreshing summer drink that can be made at anytime you have lemons or limes. You can ask for ingredients or start a new search. (via a skill)	One, in a small saucepan combine sugar and one cup water. Bring to boil and stir to dissolve sugar. And two, remove seeds from lemon juice but leave pulp.	Google	Gives a list of 5 web sites to check
Can you repeat that?	The description reads, a cool refreshing summer drink that can be made at anytime you have lemons or limes. You can ask for ingredients or start a new search.	I said, “One, in a small saucepan combine sugar and one cup water. Bring to boil and stir to dissolve sugar. And two, remove seeds from lemon juice but leave pulp.”	Tie	Says "here's what I found" but you have to scroll back to see the list.
Assistant Questions
Question	Echo's Answer	Home's Answer		Siri's Answer
Shopping	Can order from Amazon and tell you when your packages are delivered.	Can order from Google Express Retailers including Costco, Whole Foods, Walgreens, Walmart, PetSmart, and Bed Bath & Beyond if you live in an area where Google's delivery service is offered..	Echo	No
Shopping Lists			Tie
Custom Reminders			Tie
Where is the nearest movie theatre?	Here are a few nearby popular ones. (Responds with names of local theatres.) Check out the Alexa app for contact info and hours.	I found a few places. (Responds with name and address of local theatres.)	Google	Gives a list of 8 theaters within 15 miles. When you click on the theatre it gives a list of movies and the times
What's playing? (Contextual Conversation)	Here are a few movies playing near Las Vegas Nevada today. (I'm not in Las Vegas.)	This is Living Word by Jeremy Camp. (not the right answer.)
How long would it take me to drive to New York City?	I don't know what one, but I'm working on including more local businesses.	By car the trip to New York is 1 day and 18 hours with light traffic.	Google	Traffic to New York is light, so it should take 53 minutes via i-78 E.
How much is a flight to Las Vegas?	Sorry, I'm not sure about that.	Upcoming round trip flights from Nashville to Las Vegas start at $82. Did you have any dates in mind?	Google
Read my emails.	For help with that question, go to the help and feedback section of the Alexa app.	I can't read emails, yet.	Echo
What's on my calendar?	Uses Gmail, G Suite, Outlook.com, Office 365, and Apple iCloud	Uses Google Calendar	Tie
What's traffic look like today?	To hear your traffic information, go to your Alexa app and set up your commute.	Sorry, I don't know how to help with that yet, but I'm trying to learn.	Echo
What's the weather like?	Right now, it's 75 degrees with rain. Today's forecast has thunderstorms with a high of 81 degrees and a low of 71 degrees.	Today there will be isolated thunderstorms with a forecasted high of 79 and a low of 71. It's currently 76 with showers.	Tie
when is snow expected in Martinsville, NJ?	Snow is expected Jan 8th in Martinsville.
Turn kitchen lights to pink and what's the weather like today? (two-part question)		In X, it will be partly cloudy with a forecasted high of 41 and a low of 36. Right now, it's 39° and cloudy. You got it, changing two lights to pink.	Google
Wake me up at 8am	Alarm set for 8am.	Alright, your alarm is set for tomorrow at 8am.	Tie
Snooze 3 Minutes			Tie
Wake me up to (your favorite song) at 8am.			Echo
Night Mode		Will answer in a quieter voice at night.	Google
Sports

Results: Echo-5; Google-9; Tie-8;

Other to check Alexa where is my stuff Hey Google remember my pasport is in the middle drawer alexa too Hey Google where is my passport Hey google "ring my iphone" or "Where's my phone" Hey google play folk music for 10 minutes (says she'll do it but dosen't)

When is the next Arsenal game?

Both got it right.

What time is the next Central Line train to Liverpool Street from Stratford, East London?

Alexa said it couldn't answer,
Home couldn't either but recognised that it was a public transport question by saying "I can't answer public transport questions just yet".

Do I need an umbrella today?

Alexa gave me percentage chance of rain, appealing to my inner gambler.
Home said "rain is not expected" and gave me a temperature and climate update.

What is the is the score of the NVC championship game

Alexa said "Right now the Eagles are ahead of the Vikings 21 to 7 with 1 minute left in the 2nd quarter
Home "Sorry I can't help with that yet, but I'm always learning."
Siri said thee were 2 NFL games last weekend and gave the scores

What network carries Sunday night football

Alexa said "NBC caries Sunday night football thru December 17th. The pregame starts at 7:00 Eastern and each game kids off at 8:30"
Home "Sorry, I couldn't find any listings for you
Siri " There are 12 NFL games for week 15", the proceeded to give me the scores.

How much protein is in two eggs?

Home correctly answered,
Alexa didn't understand the question.

What ingredients go into a spaghetti bolognese?

Alexa couldn't answer,
Home gave me me a full list from a top result of a Google search. Useful, but perhaps not a replacement for looking at the full recipe on your phone.

Add those ingredients to my shopping list.

Home literally added "those ingredients" to my shopping list. There's still some work to be done on contextual follow-up questions.

Add garlic, onions and chopped tomatoes to my shopping list.

Again, Alexa added all three ingredients as one item to my shopping list.
Home correctly spaced them out.

What time is the next train to King's Cross from my closest station?

Neither had an answer.

How long does it take to get from Stratford to King's Cross station?

Neither could answer.

Who is the leader of the UK Green Party (trick question, there are two joint leaders of the Green Party).

Alexa answered with a direct question, but only named one leader.
Home read out a line from a BBC article that named both leaders.

Tell me joke.

Home: "How does our solar system keeps its pants up? With an asteroid belt." horrific

Alexa: "Did you hear about my Dad's restaurant on the moon? The food is ok, but it had no atmosphere". Also horrific. It's interesting that both jokes were space related, though.

Play some Skepta.

Both played "that's not me".

What song is this?

Both answered correctly. Interestingly you can't play music from both devices at the same time with the same Spotify account.

Add this to my 'liked' Spotify playlist.

Both just played my 'liked' playlist and neither added Skepta's track. It appears you can only ask unlimited follow questions in certain scenarios.

When's the best time to plant seeds?

Home gave a detailed answer based on the top result from a Google search Alexa had nothing.

Can I machine wash silk?

Home gave another detailed Google search answer.
Alexa, again, had nothing.

What's on TV tonight?

Alexa has a skill called TV guide, which sort of works. It gives specific answers about what's on certain channels right now. It also gives general answers on what's on a selection of channels at a specific time.
Home doesn't support TV schedules.

When's the next M'amp;S sale?

Neither could answer.

How much energy do you use?

Home gave me an answer to a different question about how much energy we use per Google search.
Alexa had nothing.

What questions did I ask today?

Neither could answer.

Order some dishwasher tablets

Alexa did so with aplomb.
Home couldn't answer.

On page two: the last questions and the result

Set a reminder to email Edward in 30 seconds.

Home doesn't "yet" support creating reminders.
Alexa added a reminder to my to do list without the alarm.

Change a setting.

Alexa enabled a skill with a voice command.
Home can't do much outside of toggling volume.

What apps/skills do I have installed?

Neither could answer.

What is forty two multiplied by seventy six and divided by three?

Both got it right: 1064. Although Home didn't repeat the question back to me and, oddly, added 'inches' to its answer.

What's my day like today?

Home enjoys this, it cracks it knuckles and milks its moment on the stage by making you wait for your diary appointments by giving you weather and news updates first.
Alexa just tells you the bare bones of what's in your diary.

How long will it take to get to work.

Home gave me a correct answer of 30 minutes,
Alexa had nothing.

How's the FTSE doing?

Home responded accurately,
Alexa didn't understand the question.

How many calories in a banana?

Alexa gave me a nice detailed answer describing the different types of bananas, including dehydrated bananas. It even explained why dehydrated bananas are more fattening than fruit juice. I'm a bloody banana sugar density expert now.
Home gave a more reductive response "there are 105 calories in one medium banana". Google is letting down Home users with its cavalier approach to banana statistics with that response.

Play some music.

Both obviously successfully completed this, but I only asked for the following question..

Skip the track ahead by 30 seconds.

Neither could do this, despite Home being able to skip forward videos sent to a linked Chromecast.

Who is this song by?

Both answered correctly.

Play a YouTube video on my TV.

This is probably one of Home's best features. It plays a random video from my suggested list and beams it my TV via Chromecast.
Alexa has no such functionality.

Skip the video ahead by a minute.

Another excellent feature Home does.

Where is the nearest supermarket?

Home gave me a list of local supermarkets I regularly use.
Alexa said I could search for local businesses if I add my address to the Alexa app. Unfortunately the Alexa app can't find my address so'hellip;..

What time does it close?

After asking specifically 'where's my closest Waitrose' I then asked what time it closes, to which Home responded "actually, it closed 33 minutes ago". Very cool.

What is their phone number?

Home couldn't answer.

Play an audiobook.

Alexa handled this easily, but there's doesn't seem to be an option to listen to audiobooks on Home.

Add Skepta's "that's not me" song to my grime playlist on Spotify.

Neither could add a song to a specific playlist

Set an alarm for 1 minute.'nbsp;

An easy one for both.

Turn alarm off (can it hear me over the sound of the alarm?).'nbsp;

Home can practically pick up a whisper, even over an alarm or music.
With Alexa you have to shout a few times to trigger the wake word.

What is the name of the Secretary for Brexit? (Officially known as Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union).

Home correctly answered with David Davis,
Alexa couldn't find the answer.

How old is he?

Home also got this right without me having to mention his name.

How long has he been an MP?

I got greedy here.
Home didn't know the answer to my third follow up question.

Show me photos on my TV.

A skill to far for Alexa.
Home, however, showed me a selection of my photos. Further questions revealed photos from specified locations and certain time periods.

Play Master of None on Netflix.

Home handled this easily, although it becomes a mouthful if you have multiple Chromecast devices in your home.
Alexa doesn't have this ability.

Pause, skip head, play.

Home, again, handles a follow up question well.

Play the Serial Podcast.

Both played the latest episode.

Play the first episode of the Serial podcast.

Alexa stubbornly kept playing the latest episode,
Home played the requested episode.

Play the Arsecast Extra Arsenal podcast.

Amazingly,
Home played this. It's not a hugely known podcast (at least, not amongst non-Arsenal fans), but it found it from somewhere.
Alexa couldn't find the podcast on TuneIn.

Let's play a game.

I played the "crystal ball" game (there are only two games to play) on Home where you ask it yes or no questions and you get an magic eight ball-style response. I asked "is the Earth round" and Home responded "probably not". Nice sciencing bro.

I enabled the "higher/lower" game from the skills store (there are lots of games to chose from). I got one right answer, then got berated for getting one right answer, and then when I didn't want to play any more I was called a "quitter".

Where's my phone?

Home says it doesn't know how to find my phone yet, which is odd since the device is linked to my phone.
Alexa just said "try under the couch" in a snarky voice. Yeah, a mildly funny easter egg, but seriously where's my phone? This is actual functionality I need. What I don't need is a shoot-from-the-hip zinger.

Change the alarm sound.

Alexa didn't even bother to respond with a 'I don't know how to do that' it just woke up, grunted at me, and went back to sleep. It hasn't been right since the higher/lower game.
Home just opened volume settings and then did nothing else. I got no instruction of how to switch the alarm sound

So, the final scores'hellip;

*drum roll*

*cymbal crash*

Alexa correctly answered a not-so respectable 19.5 questions out of 54.

But, with a whopping 32.5 correct answers out of 54,
Home comfortably takes home the gold.

Home's Google search, follow up questions and Chromecast abilities gave it the edge.
Alexa's skill store promises potential (best exemplified by the very handy TV guide skill), but a lack of good-quality skills limits what it can offer.

Where Amazon and Google could make huge gains on their AI tech is if they 'borrowed' a key feature from Samsung's Bixby..